Dengue breakthrough, U.S. plastic pact, televised Mexican classrooms

| Posted on August 31, 2020 |

Photo: Syed Ali / Unsplash (CCO)

Today’s edition of Squirrel News looks at Indonesia’s use of mosquitoes to eradicate Dengue fever, an anti-plastic pact that the US has drawn up, and Mexico’s utilisation of television to provide at-home lessons for children.

Dengue breakthrough in Indonesia after release of natural laced bacteria mosquitoes

Infections in the city of Yogyakarta plummeted by 77% following the release of mosquitoes injected with Wolbachia bacteria.

Source: The Guardian

Photo: via unsplash.com / Brian Yurasits

New initiative aims to shift U.S. towards a circular economy for plastics

Participants including L’oreal and Target promised to eliminate and identify unnecessary single-use plastic packaging. The agreement also aims for packaging to be recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025.

Source: Planetary Press

Mexico school classes resume on TV

With one of the highest coronavirus death tolls, Mexico – where an estimated 93% of homes have access to TV – has embarked on teaching children via televised programs rather than online.

Source: BBC

Argentina declares TV, internet and mobile services free until the end of 2020

The Argentinian government has declared mobile services, TV and internet essential for its citizens, effective from now until the end of the year. Operators will simultaneously be prohibited from hiking prices.

Source: Alertify

Green teen memes: how TikTok could save the planet

The video-sharing app has 800 million users, many of them conscious young eco-influencers campaigning on issues from climate change to biodiversity.

Source: The Guardian

Joint venture looks to invest billions in ‘natural capital’ projects to help combat climate change

Founding partner says ‘investing in the resilience of nature is investing in the resilience of the economy’.

Source: The Guardian

Climate-smart potatoes: improved resistance to disease and climate conditions

In correspondence with the 10 year Crop Wild Relatives project, a Kenyan based potato breeder and his colleagues are crossing susceptible domesticated potato varieties with numerous types of their wild spud relatives.

Source: Planetary Press

How Syria’s blasted landmarks are starting to rise from the ruins

From Aleppo to Palmyra, many of the country’s architectural treasures have been reduced to rubble, but restoration has begun.

Source: The Guardian

The man with a manifesto: how Chadwick Boseman changed film for ever

Not only did the actor embody the Black Panther role, the story with its Afrocentric utopianism and mythology allowed for an outlook beyond the African American reality that Hollywood has traditionally focused on.